bad nursing care rant

[ashleyisawesome]

sdifhaseuifhaeuifhaeui!

Just went with a friend to visit her dad in the hospital. i couldnt believe the conditions there, i was pretty disgusted. we walk in and there is a soiled brief on the floor, his gown is soaked in urine, we had to physically go to the nurses station and ask for someone to come clean him up. He told us he almost fell twice because he was ringing the call bell for help to go to the bedside commode and no one came both times. mind you, this is in an ICU. So I am assuming the nurse: pt ratio is 2:1, MAYBE 3:1 max.. And the girl who finally came in to clean him was wearing an ID badge that said pca, so they had at least one aide..

how is this acceptable? I've never been to this hospital before, and I have heard bad things about it, but seriously? I've never seen anything that bad in the hospitals I've done clinical at, especially on my ICU rotations. Those nurses were usually pretty anal about keeping everything clean, and answering call bells etc. And never have I seen a dirty brief left on the floor, thats just gross.

My friend was pretty upset by this herself. Shes upset enough that her dad is sick enough to be in the ICU, and then to see all this didnt make it any better..

Are we overreacting? sorry for the angry anecdote, just wanted to vent to some people who knew what i was talking about. I told her that if it is possible, she should see about getting him transferred to a better hospital. :heartbeat

[leslie :-D]

My friends dad who the original post was about passed away yesterday. he ended up being transferred to a bigger university hospital d/t getting several super infections, and lastly pneumonia.

all i can do is sit and wonder that if his initial care had been in a cleaner, more caring environment, if he would be in a different situation today. of course its possible his disease processes would have done this to him either way, even if he was in the nicest hospital in the country, but it is just difficult to see someone WALK into a hospital 3 months ago, who didnt even know there was anything wrong with them, to going into a comatose state and dying when his wife finally pulls the plug on the vent.

i am thankful to have this personal insight of what it is like to be on the other side of things, and hope it will make me a more compassionate nurse in the future.

i'm sorry to hear this.

none of us knows what his diagnoses were, complications, pmh, comorbids, etc.

you (as a nurse or aide) can only do your personal and professional best for your pts.

after that, it's out of your control.

we are all painfully aware of the rate of nosocomial infections with a hospital, and continues to be worked on, to this day.

but keep in mind, medical technology has never been more advanced, which is keeping many more pts alive.

again, my sincere condolences, and pray for healing and peace, for all involved.

leslie

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

My friends dad who the original post was about passed away yesterday. he ended up being transferred to a bigger university hospital d/t getting several super infections, and lastly pneumonia.

all i can do is sit and wonder that if his initial care had been in a cleaner, more caring environment, if he would be in a different situation today. of course its possible his disease processes would have done this to him either way, even if he was in the nicest hospital in the country, but it is just difficult to see someone WALK into a hospital 3 months ago, who didnt even know there was anything wrong with them, to going into a comatose state and dying when his wife finally pulls the plug on the vent.

i am thankful to have this personal insight of what it is like to be on the other side of things, and hope it will make me a more compassionate nurse in the future.

My mom got shoddy care at an ED around Phoenix- they wouldn't admit her; they were full. (as if there were no beds in the Pheonix metro area to send her:confused:) I had a lot of "what if" questions a week later when she was dead, after having to be flown back home (she and my dad were doing their winter thing) to a hospital dad trusted. After she was admitted there, she was dead in less than 48 yours.

The only thing that helps me is to think about how at least she didn't end up worse. Some days that doesn't help much. But it's all I've got.

I'm so sorry for your friend, the family, and you. But don't 'what if' yourself- it'll make you nuts. Take what you saw, and become the nurse to others that it didn't APPEAR to be what he got when you saw him. :hug:

[Cul2]

You need to report this in detail -- times, places, names, etc. Let them sort out whether there were mitigating circumstances, reasons that this happened. Let them investigate and find out. If we just let these things happen without reporting them we don't give the system a chance to either kick out/punish/retrain the incompetent or debrief and figure out how to do things better.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Honey, I am so sorry for your friend's loss. I know that questions regarding his care will continue to plague you.

There are no comforting words to offer in the face of such tragedy...my heart goes out to you and your friend.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I'm sorry for your loss.

Thinking about the original situation- it could be carelessness, or it could be a really horrible day on the unit. I would take my cues from the reaction the nurses had when they came to clean him up and found the dirty brief on the floor, or heard that he had been calling multiple times. Were they horrified, apologetic? Or defensive and making excuses?

At shift change I've come in to some messes, but as I clean the place and patient up the atmosphere changes. If they say they haven't washed all day they get completely scrubbed up, teeth and all, as opposed to "Here's a facecloth." Or if family comes in to a huge diarrhea stool we didn't know about they'll find a couple nurses at the bedside with warm water, wipes and a fresh blanket from the warmer, not just a bum change. You get my drift. So if people are left like that all the time, you wouldn't see much reaction. If it's unusual for someone to be found in that state you'd get a swift and thorough response.

[ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN]

You need to report this in detail -- times, places, names, etc. Let them sort out whether there were mitigating circumstances, reasons that this happened. Let them investigate and find out. If we just let these things happen without reporting them we don't give the system a chance to either kick out/punish/retrain the incompetent or debrief and figure out how to do things better.

unfortunately its not my place to do that. the family is so heartbroken and distressed that taking legal action against the hospital that may not even do anything is the last thing on their mind.. it wont bring him back right?

i just know, if its up to me, i, nor anyone that i care about will not be seeking care at that hospital unless i keel over in their parking lot. -- again i dont know that his fate is in anyway related to the sub par care he received there, but i know it gives me icky memories and i dont wanna go back there.

thanks everyone for the kind words

[Cul2]

"unfortunately its not my place to do that. the family is so heartbroken and distressed that taking legal action against the hospital that may not even do anything is the last thing on their mind.. it wont bring him back right?

i just know, if its up to me, i, nor anyone that i care about will not be seeking care at that hospital unless i keel over in their parking lot. -- again i dont know that his fate is in anyway related to the sub par care he received there, but i know it gives me icky memories and i dont wanna go back there."

I understand what you're saying and don't question your decision. I'm not suggesting taking legal action. I do want to point out, though, this is an example of where lack of communication contributes to lack of faith in the medical system, in this case, a particular hospital. Perhaps that lack of faith is justified. Perhaps it is not. Until we develop a system where patients feel, if not comfortable, at least perhaps responsible for reporting these kinds of incidents -- not to necessarily punish anybody -- but to make clear what their expectations are while at the same time giving the hospital a chance to debrief and correct problems. Hospitals aren't perfect. As with all of us they have blind spots and sometimes just don't see things. Like all of us, sometimes they see things and just rationalize why they don't need to do anything to correct them.

I read on here many complaints about patient satisfaction surveys. As this incident shows, hospitals should be concerned with these survey results but even more concerned with what never gets reported to them because people don't feel comfortable reporting. The hospital culture needs to make it clear that they want to hear the good and the bad and that this is because they always want to get better at what they do.

I don't have the answer as to how all this can happen with all the problems facing medicine and hospitals today. But that doesn't mean it doesn't need to happen.